1 post tagged “120”
For some time, I have subscribed to Google for news alerts that search for news items that contain words like Holga, or places like Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Today, I received an email about a wonderful Holga article by Christopher T. Assaf who writes a blog for the Baltimore Sun. It's good because he outlines how various camera bodies and films have been used by photojournalists. He begins with 35mm, which was used the 70s through 90s, which then migrated to digital. While he writes about camera usage as linear, it may actually be more circular however, because journalists now also utilize the older and slower (think slow food movement) medium format (120) film cameras such as Speed Graphics (think Jimmy Olsen), Mamiyas, and Hasselblads (not to mention Rollei twin lens cameras.)
But the impetus is not only camera and film types, but a change from quick, perfect digital to slow, imperfect and surprising cameras such as "crap" plastic Holgas. To do this, Assaf documents his adventures shooting with a Holga for The Seven Wonders of Maryland project, and goes on to provide many good examples of what this $20 wonder can achieve, or not--he even supplies those which are not so successful (or at least adjust the scan's gamma levels.) Very nice.
Above all, Assaf's article is a big yes for medium format, particularly Holgas. And we who use Holgas and other toys or antique cameras, like to use crap, unstable, leaky, or just plain old cameras. We love not knowing how the image will develop. I know I particularly like how I must quickly figure out how many feet I am from the subject (is it 23 feet or infinity?) and what the exposure should be. Using Holga visual parlance I estimate and observe--is it cloudy or sunshiny? Is it a mountain, group, or individual shot? We think fast, or not, and switch the little plastic switch to select a low light or bright exposure. It's either or, close, far, or more far away. They work or not. That's just fine for me, and now just fine for Christopher T. Assaf.
